Ask Lafeber

1 or 2 Budgies?

I can’t decide whether to get 1 or 2 male budgies from a breeder. I understand 2 will bond and likely not be tamable. But I also want to give them their best life. I’m not too concerned that 1 budgie would be lonely, but the breeder said it’s only best to have 1 if you don’t work and are at home 24/7. That seems to be an awfully unique and undoable requirement, but I am a great care giver and plan to let out the adjusted budgie for 2-3 hours a day as well as be highly social with it and have already provided excellent bird-safe cage and toys and substrate bottom with paper. I just cannot decide whether to get 1 or 2. Any thoughts?

Hi,

Most pet bird owners are not home all the time, and their birds are just fine. A pet bird will learn to adjust to the owner’s schedule. If you get two birds, you will have two birds that like each other that you can’t handle. I would recommend a young budgie – if you can find a hand fed or one that was co-parented and is tame, that is ideal. A pet bird should have plenty of toys and a large cage. A healthy and happy bird should be able to entertain himself and not be reliant on a human to keep it entertained all the time.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda